Barrel and drum cleaning device



May 31, 1938. J. R. ALEXANDER I BARREL AND DRUM CLEANING DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 11, 1929 May 31, 1938 J. R. ALEXANDERBARREL ANDy DRUM CLEANING DEVICE Original Filed Dec. 11, 1929- 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 31, 1938 PATENT OFFICE Y BARREL AND DRUMCLEANING DEVICE John R. Alexander, Newark, N. J.

Application December 11, 1929, Serial No. 413,377 Renewed June 1l, 193519 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ma' chines for cleaningbarrels or drums and is more particularly concerned with a machinedesigned to automatically steam, wash, and ydry barrels and drums,especially drums of the cylindrical type and having a bung-hole in theirtops.

Heretofore it has been the usual practice to clean containers of thistype, such as the galvanized iron drums commonly employed in theshipment of petroleum oils, by placing the container manually on a steamjet where it is subjected to a steaming operation for several minutes.The container is then manually removed 'and placed in a machine whereitis revolved in a bath of caustic solution to wash the outside andinterior. The container, when thrown from the washing machine, is raisedby hand and placed in a vertical position with the bung uppermost andthe residual washing fluid siphoned out. The drum is then placed by handon a hot air jet and dried.

These numerous manual and machine operations are slow, ineicient andcostly. They are extremely -wasteiul of the cleaning agents employed,such as, caustic, steam, rinsing water and hot air.

An object of the present invention therefore is to reduce the manuallabor and materials required to a minimum. Another' object is theelective cleansing of the drum. A still further object is a reduction inthe rtime heretofore re-` quired.

These objects are attained by the invention described hereinbelow, aspeciiic embodiment of 4which is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which Figure l represents a plan view of the entire machineshowing the barrels in position. Figure 2 represents a vertical sectiontaken on the line 2 2 of lFigure 1, and Figure 3 is a detailed sectionalshowing of the drum carriage taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l. Similarnumerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

t in the drawings a power shaft I (Fig. 1) is' provided with a gear 22adapted to engage `with the large gear wheel 2 rigidly attached to theexterior of the cylindrical drum 3, which, as shown, is "rotatablysupported on a stationary base 4.' Friction-reducing bearingsv such, forexample, as roller or ball bearings maybe provided in base`2 toinsureready rotation ofv the drum thereon. Internally drum` 3 is divided bythe horizontal plates 5 and Evinto three iluidtight superimposedcompartments l, 8 and 9. A

conduit I0 leads `axially into the upper compart- Y ment from a sourceof water supply (not shown) and is provided with a suitable water-tightconnection such asa McDonald or Wheaton swing joint or Moran lieXb'lejoint adapted to permit the drum to revolve. Joints of this type arewell 5 known. A conduit II leads from a source of hot air (not shown)axially through the bottom of the drum into the lower compartment 9 andthe base of the drum is rotatably journaled thereon by means of anair-tight joint similar to that at the top of the drum. A third conduitI2, as shown, is connected to a source of steam supply and leads axiallythrough conduit Il and compartment 9 and plate E to the centralcompartment B. Where conduit I2 penetrates plate (i a third rotatablejoint of the type already described is provided. Disposed adjacent tothe drum 3 is a container 25. This container is connected to `steam lineI2 Yby means of a valved conduit and is adapted to,` contain chemicalsto be discharged into the steam line I2 for assistingvin cleaning theinterior of the drums.

` Twelve radial arms I5 are rigidly connected by any suitable means atequal intervals to the exterior of drum 3 and extend radially tooperably connect with the twelve drum carriages I t as describedhereinafter; Each of these 12 arms supports three conduits 26, 21 and 28leading respectively'from the Water, steam and air compartments toterminate, iny the embodiment shown, in a single nozzle 29 disposed onthe carriage in position to introduce the cleaning fluids into thebung-hole of the inverted drum. These conduits are each provided withvalves designed to be automatically operated as described hereinafter.

` Surrounding the drum 3 at'a suitable distance therefrom are providedtwo concentric annular rails or grooves I3 and I4 which Vtogether form atrack adapted to receiveV the wheels 2l of the drum carriages I6 towhich power is supplied through the arms I5 so that the drum 3 andcarriages rotate in unison, as will be described below. Carriages I6 areprovided with (two rollers or Wheels, one of which is mounted on theinner rail and the other on the outer rail. Supported in verticalposition from the axles of each of these wheels is a frame. In theembodiment illustrated, each frame comprises a horizontal member I'lwhich carries the two vertical rods I8.` These rods support at theirupper ends a second cross member or angle iron I9. These two angle ironsI9` (one over each wheel) form a support or base adapted to receive thedrums or barrels to be cleaned. Rods I8 are slidably connected with theradial arms I5 in any suitable manner such as by the horizontal members20 which are rigidly attached to the radial arms above each rail andprovided with spaced apertures for slidably receiving the rods I8.

By means of this construction, it is possible for the wheels to travelover the irregularly elevated track and raise or lower the carriageframes with respect to each other and thus tilt the drum support withouttilting the frames and without tending to raise the horizontal arms I5or disturbing the central drum 3. At the same time, rotation of the drum3 is transmitted through the arms I5 and the members 20 to thecarriages.

In order to se'cure the desired tilting effect the elevation of thetracks with respect to each other has been 'carefully planned and willnow be described. Starting at the line 0, the inner rail I3 extends onan even grade, which for convenience will be called 0 elevation, forabout 345 at which point it inclines sharply upward for about 31W toreach an elevation of 4 inches. This level is maintained for 7 1/2 andthe rail then dips again to 0 elevation at the line 0 0. 'Ihe outergroove or rail I4 in which the other roller travels starting at the line0-0 has an elevation of minus 4 inches, but ascends during the next 15to plus 4 inches. This elevation is maintained for about 150. While thecarriage is traveling over this part of the track, the inverted drum istilted toward the center of the annular track on an approximately 13angle, by reason of the elevation of the outer track with respect to theinner. Thus tilted the drum is .at the proper angle to thoroughly drainwhile it is being steamed, cleaned and rinsed. Then for a space of'7l/2, the track I4 declines to an elevation of 0 where it travels for15 at an 0 elevation. During this interval, the drum is on a levelv andthe undrainedV liquid in the drum is spread over the lower surfaces ofthe drum. For the next 'l1/2 of travel track I4 inclines upwardly untila plus 4 elevation is attained thereby placing the drum on a 13 angleagain to again permit drainage. The track then alternates between 0 anda plus 4. elevation for the next 150.

By this means the drum on the carriage is alternately tilted from avertical position to an angle of 13 and the rinsing water left in thedrum is thereby alternatively distributed over the inner surface of thedrum and drained to promote the drying operation. At the end of thislast 150 travel, or 15 before completing the circuit, the outer groovedeclines in 7 1/2 to a minus 4 elevation. At this point, as alreadydescribed, the inner groove has attained a maximum elevation of 4 inchesand the carriage is suddenly tilted to such a degree that the drum isoverturned and thrown from its support and out of the machine.

The automatic control of the cleaning iluids to the drums will be nowdescribed.

As already stated, each of the Water conduits 26, the steam conduits 21and the air conduits 28 is provided with self-.closing valves indicatedby the reference numerals 30, 3| and 32 respectively, Depending fromthese Valves are cam rods 33, 34 and 35, as shown. These cam rods attheir lower end are provided with small castors 36, or other means,adapted to operate in the .annular grooves 39, 40 and 4I, disposed aboutthe central drum in position to contact the cam rods upon revolution ofthe machine.Y These grooves are elevated and depressed in relation tothe tracks in such a way as to open and close the valves to insure thepassage of steam, water and hot air to the drums in the propersuccession and for the desired duration as explained below.

'I'he self-closing valve 42 in the conduit from the chemical container25 isv likewise provided with a cam rod 43 which, in the embodimentillustrated, projects upwardly for contact with the arms I as theyrevolve.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

(For the sake of simplicity, the operation will be described inconnection with one drum only, but it will be understood that aplurality of drums are being treated in various stages.)

Power is supplied to shaft I and transmitted to the central drum 3. Asdrum 3 rotates it carries with it the arms I5 and in turn the carriagesI6. When a carriage reaches the line 0 0, a drum is placed thereon ininverted posi- Ition with the nozzle 29 projecting into the bunghole ofthe drum.

By reason of the depression of the outer track the carriage here istilted to an angle of 13 to facilitate the loading of the drum. As thedrum 3 revolves, it is tilted in the opposite direction by the upwardlyinclining outer rail and the cam lever from valve 3| in the steam line2l, after a travel of is opened by contact with the bottom of groove 40which, as shown, is elevated for a space of 90, thus permitting the flowof steam into the drum on the carriage during the rst quarter ofrevolution around the track. During this interval, the valve 42 in theconduit from the chemical container, which is disposed within thesteaming section as shown, will be operated by Contact with the rotatingmember I5 and a cleaning solution will be discharged into the steam linetoassist in the cleansing of the drum. Also, during this interval, asalready noted, the outer rail is elevated 4 inches and the drum is heldin the proper tilted position for drainage. At the end of 90 ofsteaming, the bottom of groove 40 is depressed permitting the valve 2'Ito close. At the same time, the bottom of the groove 39 is elevated thusopening valve 30 and permitting the flow of water into the drum which,by reason of the elevation of the outer rail, is held still in a tiltedposition for rinsing the same. After 45 of travel groove 39 is depressedand valve 30 closed.

At the same time, the elevation of groove 4I at this point causes valve32 to open and permit the ingress of hot air to the drums. This valveremains open for 195 of travel, thus giving ample time for the drying ofthe drum. As already explained, by reason of the alternate lowering andelevation of the outer track during these 195, the drum is tilted fromthe Vertical to a position of 13 alternatively and the water thusdistributed over the surface of the drum to facilitate the dryingoperation. At the end of the operation by reason of the simultaneousdepression of the outer groove and elevation of the inner groove, thedrum is lifted off of the jet, overturned and thrown out of the machineas already described.

The machine as described above has been successfully operated at a speedof 1 revolution in every 12 minutes. Obviously, however, the rotationmay be speeded up or slowed to adapt it to the condition of the drums.When making a complete revolution in 12 minutes, a clean drum is thrownfrom the machine every minute.

It is to be understood that the embodiment described hereinabove ismerely illustrative and that various changes may be made in theparticular elements described. Thus, other means such as a crank shaftconnected to the wheels of the drum carriage may be employed forsecuring the oscillation of the drums and other means for controllingthe injection of steam, water and air thereinto may be employed.Likewise, it is obvious that instead of driving the carriages around thetrack by means of the radial arms I5, the carriages may be driven by aseparate source of power. Ob-Viously, also they may be suspended from anelevated rail. Also, instead of having the arms l5 rigidly joined to thedrum 3, these arms may be hinged to the exterior of the drum 3 and tothe carriages and the sliding connections with the carriages dispensedwith.

To meet peculiar conditions, the duration of y the steaming, rinsing anddrying operations may be varied and likewise the elevation of the railswith respect to each other. One or more of the above operations may bedispensed with when circumstances permit. These and many other possiblemodifications will suggest themselves to a skilled -mechanic or engineerand are within the scope of applicants invention.

Obviously the capacity of the machine may be increased by increasing thelength of the arms and thereby giving a greater circumference for thedrums to travel around and at the same time allowing an increase in thenumber of arms and drum carriages. Obviously also the capacity of themachine may be similarly decreased by decreasing the length of the arms.A

In order to retain the heat of the cleaning fluids and guard against theescape of objectionable or'valuable voltatile substances, the track andcarriages may be enclosed in a hood or tunnel provided with means fordischarging the collected fumes.

In actual operation it has Abeen found that the machine may be operatedby one man. Moreover, the drums thrown from the machine are not onlycleaner but are more thoroughly dried than drums washed by the methodsordinarily employed at present. In addition, the time, the

.amount of cleaning fluid, and heat required to secure these results istremendously decreased.

As many apparent and widely different embodiments of this invention maybe made without departing from the spirit thereof, it is to beunderstood that I do not limit myself to the foregoing examples ordescription except as indicated in the following claims.

I claim:

l. In a drum cleaning mechanism, a movable carriage adapted to support adrum, means movable with said carriage for introducing into said drum acleaning fluid, said carrier and means being movable in a circular pathin a substantially horizontal plane and tilting means adapted toautomatically cause the cleaned drums to fall from said carriage.

2. In a drum cleaning mechanism, a rotatable annular conveyer adapted tosupport a plurality of drums, separate valved conduits for each drumconnected for rotation with said conveyer for leading a cleaning fluidand a drying gas into said drums and cams adapted to operate said valves`during the rotation of said conveyer to cause the successiveintroduction of lcleaning fluid and drying gasinto each of said drums.

3. In a drum cleaning mechanism, a rotatable vsystem comprising anannular conveyer adapted to support a-plurality of drums, an axiallydisposed source of cleaning fluid and drying gas, and separate valvedconduits for leading said fluid and gas from said source into each ofsaid drums in succession and means automatically controlled by therotation of said system to successively open and close the valvedconduits.`

4. In a drum cleaning mechanism, a rotatable system comprising anannular conveyer adapted to support a plurality of drums, an axiallydis-` posed source of cleaning fluid and drying gas,

lmeansior leading said iluid and gas from said source into each of saiddrums, means controlled by the rotation of said system to permit thesuccessive introduction of cleaning iiuid and drying gas into the drums,and means for-oscillating the drums during the introduction of the gaswhereby the drying operation is facilitated.

5. In a drum cleaning mechanism, a conveyer adapted to carry a drum,means movably associated with said conveyer for automatically andsuccessively introducing into said drum a cleaning iiuid and a dryinggas, and means for automatically oscillating said drum during theintroduction of the drying gas.

6. In a drum cleaning mechanism, meansy for successively introducing acleaning fluid and a drying gas into a drum, a movable carriage adaptedto support said drum in position to receive said fluid and gas, and anannular track for said carriage having its outer rail elevated withrespect to the inner rail during the portion ing gas is introduced,whereby the drum is oscillated to facilitate the drying operation.

8. In a drum cleaning mechanism comprising an endless undulatingV track,an axially disposedA rotatable hub, spokes integrally connected withsaid hub and extending radially therefrom, ver-` tically disposedsleeves provided on the outer extremities of said spokes, a drumcarriage and a vertically slidable connection between said drum carriageand said sleeves whereby the rotation of said hub may be transmitted tosaid carriage and at the same time the carriage may be raised or loweredwith respect to said hub by the undulatihg track.

9. In a'drum cleaning mechanism, a rotatably mounted cylindricalcontainer, said container being divided into three compartments,separate conduits leadingaxially into each of saidcompartments forintroducing therein respectively water, steam and air, separate conduitsleading radially from each of said compartments to a nozzle on each of aseries of movable carriages adapted to support a single drum in positionto receive said nozzle, an annular track for said carriages, means forrotating said central container and said carriages in unison, and meansoperated by the rotation of said central container to successivelycontrol the flow of steam, water and air individually into each of saiddrums. Y

10. In a drum cleaning mechanism, a rotatably mounted verticallydisposed cylinder having its interior divided into three superimposedcom-` water and air into said compartments, an indi-` vidual support foreach drum adapted to rotate with said cylinder, radially disposedconduits leading from each of said compartments to said support, valvesin said conduits, valve stems depending from said valves and adapted tocontact with a series of annular successively disposed cams whereby,upon the rotation of said cylinder, the steam, water, and air conduitsare successively opened and closed and each individual drum therebysuccessively steamed, rinsed and dried.

11. In a drum cleaning mechanism, an annular track, a containerrotatably disposed at the center of said track, separate compartments insaid container for steam, Water and hot air, drum f carriages mounted onsaid track, radial arms connecting said rotatable container andcarriages for unitary rotation, a nozzle on each of said carriages andseparate valved conduits connecting one of said nozzles respectivelywith each of said compartments and adapted to move with said carriagesand container.

12; In a drum cleaning mechanism, an annular two-rail track, acontainerrotatably disposed at the center of said track, separatecompartments in said container for steam, water and hot air, drumcarriages mounted on said track, radial arms connecting said rotatablecontainer and carriages for unitary rotation, nozzles on said carriages,separate valved conduits connecting each of said nozzles individuallywith each of said compartments and adapted to move with said carriagesand container, valve stems depending from said valves, and a series ofannular stationary cams contacting with said valve stems upon therotation of said conduits and successively permitting the flow of steam,Water and air to said nozzles.

13. The mechanism set forth in claim 12 in which a portion of theannular track has one rail vertically disposed with respect to the otherso as to maintain the drums in a tilted position during the steaming andrinsing operations.

14. The mechanism set forth in claim 3, comprising in addition acontainer for chemicals, a

duct connecting said chemical'container with said source of cleaningfluid, a valve in said duct, and means to open and close said valve tointermittently discharge a chemical into said source.

15. In the mechanism set forth in claim 12, a stationary container forchemicals, a duct connecting said chemical container with said steamcompartment, a valve in said duct, and operating means for said valvecontrolled by the movement of said drum carriage.

16. In a machine for cleaning a rigid container, a horizontally movablesupport for said container, means moving with said support forintroducing a fluid into said container and means associated with saidsupport to vary the angle of the support from the horizontal during theintroduction of the uid.

1'7. In a machine for cleaning rigid containers, a plurality of supportsfor said containers, driving means connecting said supports to move themin unison in a horizontal direction and means associated With saidsupports to cause said containers to be tilted from side to side uponsuch horizontal motion.

18. In a drum cleaning mechanism, a movable carriage adapted to supporta drum, a jet, for introducing a cleaning agent, movable with saidcarriage and adapted to project upwardly into a drum supporte-d on saidcarriage and means to automatically lift the clean drum from said jetand cause the drum to fall from said carriage While it is in motion.

19. In a machine for cleaning a container, a support for said containerhorizontally movable about a vertical axis, nozzle means horizontallymovable with said support about said vertical axis for introducing a uidinto said container, and means for changing the inclination of thecontainer and nozzle means relatively to each other during theintroduction of the fluid to better distributethe iluid on the interiorof the container.

JOHN R. ALEXANDER.

